Illegal authority in the old believer pomorsk community of Chelyabinsk

The anti-religious policy of the Soviet period caused the loss of the historical continuity of the Chelyabinsk Old Believers of the past and present. In this regard, studies of the history of the Old Believer community are of great importance in the process of building historical continuity. The underground existence of the Old Believers left its mark on the source base, as a result of which a representative corpus of sources was not formed at the local level. The historiography of the issue is represented by a small number of publications and indicates the fragmentation of the study of the history of the Chelyabinsk Old Believers. The solution to this problem is possible if new historical sources are introduced into scientific circulation. Based on the manuscripts of the Archaeographic Research Laboratory of the Ural Federal University, the article examines the phenomenon of power among the Chelyabinsk Bespopovtsy of Pomor consent. The author analyzes the powers of participation in the divine service of tutors and Pomor mentors presented in the works of the Chelyabinsk Pomor Old Believers of the second half of the 20th century. Through the analysis of doctrinal and conciliar documents and the writings of the Old Believers, the stages of the evolution of profane power among the Pomorian Old Believers of Chelyabinsk are formulated. As a result of the study, such stages of the transformation of non-consecrated power were formulated as (1) the period of lay mentors, (2) the period of power of the tutors, and (3) the period of women’s mentoring. The current state of the Chelyabinsk Pomor community is characterized by the return of the authoritative institution of lay mentors. Therefore, the study of this issue is not only of scientific relevance but will also be of importance in the context of the modern revival of the church life of the Old Believers of Chelyabinsk.